A gas turbine engine generally includes a fan and a core arranged in flow communication with one another. Additionally, the core of the gas turbine engine generally includes, in serial flow order, a compressor section, a combustion section, a turbine section, and an exhaust section. In operation, air is provided from the fan to an inlet of the compressor section where one or more axial compressors progressively compress the air until it reaches the combustion section. Fuel is mixed with the compressed air and burned within the combustion section to provide combustion gases. The combustion gases are routed from the combustion section to the turbine section. The flow of combustion gases through the turbine section drives the turbine section and is then routed through the exhaust section, e.g., to atmosphere.
Many components of a gas turbine engine must be processed prior to installation in the engine. For example, coatings may need to be applied, inspections may need to be performed, slots may need to be cut, and holes may need to be drilled. For example, a turbine blade may need to have a plurality of holes machined in the blade to allow a flow of cooling air through the blade and over its surface. In addition, used components of gas turbine engines may need to be processed for the purposes of repair or maintenance. Conventional machining processes involve carefully positioning the turbine blade in a nesting fixture such that it contacts six datum locators which extend from six datum locator arms. After the turbine blade is properly positioned, a clamp secures it in place and the fixture is moved to a machine for drilling.
However, the datum locators, datum locator arms, and clamping arm of a conventional nesting fixture often interfere with the machining of the turbine blade or other engine components. More specifically, these features block the line of sight required between the component and the cutting implement, e.g., a drill bit. As a result, the process must be repeated with multiple nesting fixtures having slightly different positioning of the datum locators, datum locator arms, and clamping arms, in order to ensure all holes are machined. Additional nesting fixtures are very expensive and increase the tooling costs significantly. In addition, the process of positioning the turbine blade in the nesting fixture and setting up the machining tool is increased correspondingly with each additional tooling fixture. Therefore, the overall setup and machining time is increased substantially.
Accordingly, a tooling fixture assembly with features for more quickly and efficiently processing a component of a gas turbine engine would be desirable. More specifically, a tooling fixture assembly that enables the machining of turbine blades without the need for using multiple nesting fixtures would be particularly beneficial.